Apparatus for emptying containers of liquid



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

IIIIIAFIIIIIIIIIIIII W. S. EDWARDS APPARATUS FOR EMPTYING CONTAINERS QF L- IQUIDv Filed June 28, 1954 Aug. 20, 19s? w. s. EDWARDS 2,803,361

APPARATUS FOR EMPTYING CONTAINERS OF- LIQUID I Filed June 28, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

zigzag M fad/L ATTORNEY-S APPARATUS FOR EMPTYING CONTAINERS OF LIQUID Filed June 28, 1954 W. S. EDWARDS Aug. 20, 1957 3Sheets-Sheet a INVENTOR. 5% M. ai iq/a zlt A ATTORNEY Unite tates atent Patented Aug. 20, 357

APPARATUS non EMPTW o (ZGNTAINERS on mourn Application June 28, 1954, Serial No. 439,639 4 Qlaims. (Cl. 214-365) This invention relates to dairy machinery, and more particularly to machinery for emptying containers of liquid products such as milk.

Containers of milk products returned unsold from milk delivery routes and stores have to be emptied and disposed of, and their handling represents a large overhead factor in most dairy operations.

it is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide apparatus for emptying filled containers of liquid products.

Another object is to provide apparatus for emptying and simultaneously crushing the containers in such a fashion that the product may be salvaged and the container compressed so as to consume minimum'space.

Another object is to provide a container emptying apparatus which is fully shielded for the safety of the operating personnel but which is adapted to be opened for cleaning and repair without danger of bodily injury.

Yet another object is to provide a container emptying apparatus which will accommodate filled containers of a range of sizes, and which will cause the maximum amount of the product to be emptied therefrom.

These and other objects and features of the invention may be attained by means of apparatus including a feed chute for receiving the filled containers and cooperating container-feeding and compressing members for receiving the containers from the chute and pressing them flat from one end toward the other. The containers will be caused to burst open at a point remote from the compressing members and the contents extruded. The feeding and crushing members may be arranged to pass the crushed container along an upwardly inclined chute toward a discharge point, thereby allowing additional time for gravity drainage of the contents. If desired, one feeding and crushing member may be journalled in a movable frame portion to facilitate exposure of the parts for cleam'ng and repair, with means being provided to inactivate the member automatically.

The invention may be better understood by reference to .the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodhnent thereof, and in which:

Figure l is a side view of the container emptying apparatus as seen from the point of discharge of the emptied and crushed containers;

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section taken on a plane through the line 2-2 of Figures 1 and 3 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a top view of the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a view in vertical section taken on the plane through the line 44 of Figures 1 and 3 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view repeating part of Figure 2 showing the crushing and feeding members operating on a container;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary View in vertical section taken on the plane through the line 6-6 of Figures 2 and 3 and showing the feeding and compressing member assembly; and

Figure 7 isa view corresponding to Figure 2 showing the mode of separation of the crushing and feeding members for purposes of cleaning and repair.

Referring to the drawings, the invention is illustrated as embodied in a container emptying apparatus including a supporting frame 10, an inclined infeed chute 11, and a container bursting and flattening assembly 12 driven by motive means 13.

The infeed chute 11 may comprise a downwardly inclined track preferably in the form of a longitudinally corrugated sheet metal slide 14 bounded by guide rails 15 which are spaced apart a suflicient distance to accommodate in transverse orientation the longest container to be handled by the apparatus. In Figures 1 and 3, the chute is shown carrying a series of edgewise abutted paperboard milk containers C, preferably arranged with the bottoms aiming in the direction of the flattening as-. sembly 12. At the lower end of the chute 11, the outermost guide rail 15 curves inwardly toward the flattening assembly 12 to afford a camming surface 15a which urges the containers, bottom first, toward the assembly 12. The innermost guide rail is correspondingly curved at its lower end 15b toward the assembly 12. At the lower end of the chute 11, the containers slide onto a grille-like support constituted of bars 16a, 16b and arranged on progressively lower levels, as best seen in Figures 2 and 4, to tilt the containers downwardly toward'the assembly 12. A bar 16d may be provided above the tilted containers to prevent upending.

The assembly 12 preferably comprises a pair of gear like members 17 and 18 mounted on spaced, horizontal shafts 19 and 20, respectively, which are in turn journalled in bearings 19a and 29a carried by the frame 10. The upper member 17 is driven in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 2 and 5, and the lower member 18 in a counterclockwise direction by means of meshed driving gears 21 and 22., the latter being coupled to a reduction gear box 24, which is in turn driven by an electric motor 23 through suitable means such as a belt drive 24a.

The shafts 19 and 20 are spaced apart vertically with the lower shaft 20 offset slightly in a horizontal direction toward the incoming containers, as best seen in Figure 2, to facilitate the crushing and self-feeding action of the gear-like members. The counter-rotated members 17 and 18 are formed with toothed peripheries, the teeth being inclined slightly in the direction of rotation to afford gripping edges 25 and 26 on the members '17 and 18, respectively. The spacing of the shafts 19 and 20 is such that the peripheries of the rotary members 17 and 18 are sufficiently spaced to define a channel to receive and pass crushed containers.

The members 17 and 18, as best seen in Figure 6, may each be made up of two or more sections 17 a, 17b and 18a, 1817, each of which may comprise a series of toothed plate members 27 grouped between side walls 28 and 29 and held together by means of through bolts 30. Spacers 31 of reduced diameter are interposed between the sections to form circumferential grooves in each of the gearlike members 17 and 18. Alternatively the members 17 and 18 can be fashioned in a single piece.

In operation, as the containers C slide sideways down the feed chute 11, the lowermost containers become tilted on the bars 16a, 16b and 160 and, under the combined influences of gravity and the camming surface 15a, slide one by one, bottom first, toward the members 17 and 18. As the bottom portion of a container is moved into the orbits of these members, the toothed peripheries grab it, pulling it inwardly and at the same time crushing it. This causes the container to burst at its upper end where it is normally sealed by a detachable closure arrangement, causing the contents to be extruded therefrom. As the entire container is passed between the members 17 and 18, it will be completely crushed or flattened and emptied ofmost of its contents, finally being discharged as a flattened container. If desired, an upwardly inclined chute 32 may be provided at the output sideof the members 17 and'lS so that the crushed container will tend to be tilted head down to facilitate more complete drainage of the liquid. To assist in the discharge of the crushed containers, a guiding tongue 33, as best seen in Figure 5, can be carried by the frame above the chute 32 'to'extend downwardly into the groove between the sections of the crushing members as defined by the spacers 311 The crushed and emptied containers may be deposited into a suitable receptacle (not shown) such as a refuse barrel,'while the emptied liquid contents may be caught in a suitable trough beneath members 17 and 18 and channeled to another receptacle.

' In order to prevent injury to operating personnel, the entire lower portion of the apparatus may be covered by a shield 34. "Tofa'cilitate cleaning of the shielded parts, and also as a means of preventing injury to personnel, the'axle or shaft 19 carrying the upper crushing feeding member 17 and the driving gear 21 can be journalled in a frame part 35 hinged at 36 to the fixed frame of the machine for movement between open and closed positions. As best seen in Figure 7, the upper member 17 can be swung upwardly into an inoperative position, in which it is fully exposed and as a result of which the lower member 18 is likewise exposed. At the same time, the driving gears 21 and 22 are disengaged to deactivate the upper' member, even though the motor 23 is still 7 operating.

The overall shield 34 can be formed with a shield portion 34a carried by the frame part 35 to swing upwardly therewith. In order that the frame part 35 may find a resting place for its raised position, a stop shoulder in the form of a channel iron 37 may be attached to the fixed frame directly beneath the hinging axis.

In the event it is desired to accommodate containers of shorter lengths, the infeed apparatus may be readily modified by mounting a supplementary guide rail (not shown) in the infeed chute 11 to define a relatively narrower channel, with the lower end of the supplementary guide rail being formed at its lower end with a curved camming surface for urging the containers lengthwise into the members 17 and 18,. To facilitate the mounting of the supplementary guide rails, suitable mounting holes 38 may be formed in the corrugated slide 14.

While the invention is described above with particular 7 reference to the illustrated container emptying and crushing. apparatus, it will be understood that the invention may take other forms and arrangements. Thus, for example, a straightaway feedingchute can be used in place of the curved chute, in which case the camming surface 15a would be eliminated and the containers passed down the chute in endwise alignment. Also, the chute can be arranged vertically. Moreover, if it should be desired to being upwardly inclined.

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of the rotary members, a pair of meshed driving gears I for said members, one of said driving gears being carried by the movable frame part, whereby movement of the frame part separates the gears to disconnect the member carried by the movable part and means to rotate the members in opposite directions to carry the containers therebetween to cause the. containers to be crushed and to extrude their contents.

2. Container-emptying apparatus including an infeed chute to receive containers to beernptied, a pair of rotary members of substantially cylindrical shape mounted side.

by side to define a channel to receive containers from the infeed chute, an outfe ed chute to receive crushed containers, means defining a g irthwise groove in at least one of the members, and a guiding tongue received in the groove adjacent the outfeed chute.

3 Apparatus accordingto claim 2, said outfeed chute 4. Containe'r emptying apparatus including a frame, a downwardly inclined infeed chute to receive containers on their sides in side-by-side relationship with their longitudinal axes disposed transversely to the direction of infeed movement on the chute, guide rail means on the infeedfchute curving laterally near the lower end of the chute to urge the containers axially olf of the chute, a supporting surface for the containers near the bottom of the chute inclined in the direction of movement of the containers oif of the chute, a pair of rotary members spaced apart to define a channel to receive the containers, end first, from the inclined supporting surface, means to rotate the members in opposite directions to crush the containers and pass them through the channel, said members having container-gripping teeth on their peripheries, an upwardly inclined outfeed chute to receive crushed containers, means forming a girthwise groove in at least one of the members, and a guiding tongue received in the groove and overlying the outfeed chute.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

